Blame
by Lovingh3art
Summary: Ben and Reed get into a big fight over a small misunderstanding. One-shot.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Mr. Fantastic, the Thing, or any other Fantastic Four characters and elements. They were created by and are owned currently by Marvel Entertainment.**

The mood of the Baxter Building was quiet, thought that proved to be unusual these days. Aside from super-villain attacks, inter- dimensional excursions, and the property damage resulting from Ben and Johnny's fights, the FF lived in a chaotic world. At the moment, though, it was just Reed and Ben around. Johnny had gone on a date with a new girlfriend (Reed already calculated that they wouldn't last long as a couple), while Sue and the kids had gone to visit the zoo.

Reed was currently inside his massive lab, tinkering and stretching around like it was any other day. He planned on figuring out the blueprints for a black hole nullifier before lunch, but that had gone by and he was still ironing out the kinks. Of course, the more pressing matter was what he and Ben had accomplished that very morning.

In his quest to find Ben a cure for his condition, Reed had detected a pocket dimension located outside of their galaxy that housed a transformative chemical enzyme. From what his readings had gathered, it could change matter from one state to another in seconds, and he concluded that it could do the same for the blue-eyed rock man.

Initially hesitant, Ben agreed and Reed used his technology to open a portal to the dimension. Once they got there, they found it to be a vast space full of pink rocks and yellow skies. The duo pushed on until they located a wellspring where the chemical was housed, and everything seemed to be going well.

But just as Reed prepared to obtain some of the substance, local creatures made of pink mist appeared and began tormenting them. Able to dissipate through Reed's stretching and Ben's fists, they continue to pester until one flowed right into Ben's face and exploded.

"Ben!" Mr. Fantastic called.

The Thing coughed and sputtered for a minute, then growled and spun around. He clapped his hands together in a shockwave that sent the spirits either backward or to completely disappear. "Let's get outta' here!"

The two hurried back to the portal, but when they crossed over, Reed's face became alarmed when the chemical sample evaporated into pure mist. The portal closed, he closed his eyes and cursed mentally before gazing at Ben. The rocky behemoth was huffing and gazing darkly at the distance. It was as if the stretchy scientist could feel a bad vibe ruminating off of his friend.

"Ben, are you all right?" Reed asked him.

"Sure, stretch," the Thing replied grumpily. "I'll be in m' room." He trudged down the hallway and stomped back to his quarters, leaving a bewildered and concerned Reed standing there.

And that had been the mood for the whole afternoon after that. In the one time Reed had stretched out of his lab for lunch, he hadn't seen Ben making his lunch like he normally did Even by elongating his neck inside the den, the malleable scientist couldn't see his friend. Was he going to stay in his room the whole day?

 _I should probably focus on this,_ Reed thought as he came back to reality. He remembered the last schematics for the nullifier and stretched an arm over to the nearby table, concocting a screwdriver and brining it to his line of vision. Carefully, his fingers brought the tool within a small compartment of the device and began precise, delicate work. The sweat on Reed's forehead and neck moved along at the pace of a snail.

He was about to call for H.E.R.B.I.E. when he remembered that the robot had been shut down for power conservation. That being said, the predicament puzzled Reed. He had called on Ben to bring H.E.R.B.I.E back online a little after lunch.

 _Is Ben going to be in his room all day?_

The answer suddenly came to his mind when a huge presence banged hard upon the door to the lab. Reed almost dropped the screwdriver and carefully stretched his fingers back with it. Putting it down, he looked alarmed at the door and was about to answer before an angry voice cut him off.

"STRETCH! I know you're in there! Lemme' in!"

Reed automatically knew the voice to be Ben's, thought he was puzzled at his angry attitude . Deciding to see what was up, he stretched his right arm to a holographic dial several feet to the right and was close to opening the door when, unfortunately, the doors flew open. To his luck, Mr. Fantastic was far enough that the doors hitting the floor did not hurt him. What he did have to deal with was his friend, whose heaving chest and hulking manner suggested he may have started taking a cue from the Hulk.

"Ben!" Reed reprimanded him while concerned . "What did you do that for? I was about to open-"

"No more excuses, Reed," the Thing said as he trudged in noisily. "All ya' do is make excuses."

"What are you talking about?" Ben was getting closer and Reed was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable.

Coming nearer, the man made out of rocks furrowed his craggy brows. "I'm talking about all of this – everything that we did today and before – it's all a scam! Every time, ya' wind me up and say it'll b' fine…and ya' let me down when it isn't!"

"Ben…are you talking about your cure?" Reed asked.

The Thing looked like he was about to positively explode. "OF COURSE I'M TALKIN' ABOUT MY CURE! WHAT ELSE, STRETCH?!" Without even thinking about it, one of the Thing's craggy fists picked up a device of some sort from the table and crushed it like a piece of paper. Reed gasped in shock, then looked back at Ben in worry.

"Look, I understand that you're angry we didn't find it in that pocket dimension, but we can't give up hope-"

"WHY? SO YOU CAN KEEP ME ON YA' PERSONAL GUARD LEESH, HUH? YOU NEED A ROCK TO PROTECT THE RUBBERBAND?"

At this point, Reed was seriously considering that something was happening to Ben. He decided that attempting to de-escalate was a better option – otherwise, things might get out of hand. He stretched his torso a little bit so he had the higher ground and walked backwards towards his table.

"The Ben Grimm I know would never overreact like this, especially after this long in your condition. We didn't find it, Ben, but we can and will."

For a second, it looked like he may have worked things out. But then Ben's eyes became pure red, and Reed's suspicions seemed to be confirmed. Not to mention that his best friend now wanted to kick his ass.

"YOU'RE DONE, STRETCH!" The Thing threw a punch that went straight for Reed's torso. Having not expected so severe of a reaction, Mr. Fantastic was sent flying backwards into the very table he'd been meaning to reach. As machines and gadgets were sent tumbling across the room, he lay there with his appendages stretched out and his face contorted to the shape of an egg. Reed felt dizzy and nearly blacked out until he saw Ben running straight at him, pure hatred in his eyes.

The sight was enough to cause Reed to gain complete control of his body and grapple right out of the spot before Ben's charge completely obliterated where he would've been. He dodged two large swipes with luck and managed to stretch to the other side of the room, panting and focused. Looking at the damage Ben had caused made him realize it would set his research back weeks, but if his friend caused more, then that might put him behind for months – and he couldn't afford that.

Reed held out his hands cautiously in an attempt to calm down the soon. "Ben, I am your friend. Destroying my lab isn't going to do anything productive."

"IT'LL MAKE ME FEEL BETTER!" Lost in what seemed to only be complete and utter rage, Ben charged at Reed once again, but this time the elastic scientist was prepared for the assault. He stretched to the side of the Thing as he was moving and quickly began wrapping himself around his friend's body. He done this a million times in arguments and other scenarios, but right now was critical. His mind worked like a computer, assessing the joints he would need to restrain and the pressure he would need to apply if he wanted this to work. So much of the battle depended on it.

"HEY, WHA-"

"Enough!" Reed shouted. By now, his body was wrapped thick around Ben's, bringing his torso together with his arms, his legs tied to the ground, and his chest covered in Reed's elongated body. Ben huffed and struggled in the bonds of his friend, but it was no use. Reed had done this enough times to know how much force he needed to use to restrain his friend – and keep him that way.

"Lemme' go, Reed, or I'm really gonna stretch you out!"

"Ben, I think you were hit by some sort of energy in that dimension!" Reed exclaimed heavily, putting in a good deal of effort to keep his friend restrained. "If I can run some tests, then maybe I'll find a way to help you get back to normal! But first you need to calm down!"

"Forget that!" the Thing yelled. "It won't go back to being normal, because in th' end all this was fer' nothin! I'm still gonna be this way and ya can't fix it, ya' can only keep ya' life that's so much better than mine!"

"Is…is that how you really feel?" Reed asked, feeling like he'd just been stabbed in the back. "You think I have a better life?"

"O'course ya' do!" Ben screamed while continuing to struggle in Reed's coils. "Ya' got a pretty wife, two kids, a big brain, all the money in the world – it's all there for ya!"

Reed was so taken aback by what Ben was saying that he didn't realize his coils around Ben's body were slipping. The Thing did, though, and when he got the chance, began to yank free. Mr. Fantastic realized too late as he body came undone and went everywhere, knocking down equipment in the process. This time around, Ben gripped Reed's torso and held onto it tight, allowing the rest of his limbs to fumble around on the ground like spaghetti.

"Ben…" an exasperated Reed said while dealing with the sudden attack. "…You're hurting me."

"Yeah! Now ya know what it's like, feeling the pain!"

Reed's body began to gradually fall lower in Ben's grip and started to drip onto the floor. At first, Grimm thought that it was a mental illusion, but as the blob of blue liquid on the floor began to move and collect, he realized it was another one of Reed's abilities. He turned and swiped at Reed's substance of a body, but his friend was already two steps ahead, slithering underneath another table. Anger rising in him, the Thing bellowed while charging at the table. In the process of smashing the gizmos on there, he didn't realize that one of them was a pink gas that started leaking once he'd smashed it.

The fumes from the gas caused Reed to resume his normal figure and cough at the chemicals now in the air. "Ben…that gas…is from the Skull homeworld…it's deadly to humans…we need to vent it out…"

The Thing was already wheezing, but he still looked as mad as ever. "Don't…care..you still owe me!" Sluggishly, the Thing took a hold of Reed and swirled around before lobbing him into the air. The elastic leader took the momentum he gained and used it to shape his body into a blue ball, but the force of the movement caused him to collide with a large ceiling panel. With an "ouch!" Reed came crashing down and collapsed as a stretchy blob upon the floor. Ben was too pre-occupied with his wheezing to notice.

Reed had barely begun re-assembling himself when he heard a cracking noise and looked up. His eyes widened in horror as the ceiling panel fell down faster than he anticipated. Before he could stretch away, the table-sized piece landed directly over his legs. Mr. Fantastic groaned because the added weight on his legs, the damage Ben has dealt to his body, and the exposure to the gas was leaving him increasingly weakened. He strained to no avail and huffed in irritation.

Noticing heavy footsteps and a heavier breath, he saw Ben looking down at him.

"Are…are u happy?" Reed asked in a strained voice

"Not yet," Ben stated. "I want ya' to feel what I'm feeling…even if that means wrecking' this place with you in it…."

For the first time in the battle, instincts took over Reed's body. He was the only one who could keep Ben in the lab and protect his family. He might've been trapped, but he owed it to what remained of his friend to help him.

Pushing through his dizziness and leg entrapment, Reed stretched forwards with a sudden ferocity that caught Ben off guard. He wrapped around Ben once again, but this time took to the extra effort to entrapping him fully this time. Ben tried to punch and break free, but Reed's elastic skin took the blows of it all.

Unfortunately, that didn't mean Ben couldn't move. As he did, he twisted and tried different attacks against th elastic barrier. The covered Thing began to wander around the room and smash into the remains of the lab, pulling more and more of Reed with him. The farther Reed was pulled, the more he could feel his strength slipping. _Just a little longer_ , he thought, but already in his mind was a as weak as his body.

The pink gas was now everywhere in the lab, and both of the heroes were feeling it. Ben was less constant with his attacks, yet still pummeled at the blue tarp over himself. Reed continued to stretch to meet his friend's attacks , but he felt himself slipping. Then, he felt a great heat, and all of his strength evaporated like that. The weak Mr. Fantastic fell to the floor and flopped as he collided. Weakly picking up his head, head saw his body had been stretched all around the room and right back to where they'd started. He barely felt his legs anymore, so maybe that had something to do with it.

The Thing was still next to him and coughed once more. With his opportunity fleeting, Reed took it.

"Ben….he wheezed outwardly. "I know you're in there…what you said…it may be true…but you can stop this…I know you can…please…."

Mr. Fantastic tried one last bit of effort and began to sketch out an arm, but it limped halfway through and flopped on the floor. His mind following short thereafter, Reed collapsed to the floor fully and went into unconscious.

Standing there, something snapped inside Ben. He looked around the lab, at what he'd done to friend (namely stretching him out like pizza dough) and it made him want to vomit. The feeling bubbled before a pink energy began to emit from his mouth and eyes. It fought back in an effort to stay, but so did Ben, and with every fiber of his being.

"Get out!" He screamed as the orange color left his face. It evaporated into a small cloud and then nothing. Once it was gone, Ben huffed and puffed until he felt himself falling onto the ground and going to sleep.

The two friends lay there for a while, the broken lab all around them, until out of nowhere the pink gas was sent away by the now active vents. A small circle in the ceiling produced Herbie, who immediately flew down and noticed with alarm the unconscious heroes lying on the floor, one stone cold out and the other stretched like silly putty around the room.

"Dr. Richards? Me. Grimm?" Herbie asked in his electronic voice. When neither responded, he shrugged with fear.

…

Reed's eyes opened slowly. As he began to perceive the room, he coughed and soon realized that his body was still lying on the ground. The lab was still in the giant mess from their fight. More importantly, Ben was right besides him, and from the sound of it was breathing and awake.

Ben's eyes traveled to those of his stretched-out friend before the two looked away and back to the ceiling. After a few seconds, Ben started first…

"Wow. Guess I made your insurance premiums go up," he chuckled darkly.

"Ben…did you mean any of that? From what I hypothesized about your behavior, the energy from the dimension must've left an imprint in your mind that enhanced some of your subconscious thoughts. That couldn't have happened unless you had it…"

Ben sighed. "Stretch, there's always been a part of me that just wanted to get back to normal. Every day I couldn' feel normal, it felt better directing my anger at you and everyone else. I guess every time we do this, I get my hopes up- and end up disappointed."

"But…I've also fig' that bein' the Thing…is who'm destined to be. And getting angry is what a hero does. Point is, I need to accept that. If there is a cure, great, but from now on I think I'll just enjoy bein' me. After all, who can replace me as the Thing?"

Reed chuckled. "I understand. I'm sorry for bringing you into that dimension…if I hadn't-"

"No, stretch," said Ben, "it's me who should be apologizing. I lost control and broke your lab, that was wrong o' me to do. 'Sides, won't your research get set back a while?"

"Not if I have some help in cleaning this place up before the others get back," Reed replies. He quickly did some calculations in his head, saying, "we've got at least three hours until then, so…"

Ben huffed and folded his arms, still looking up at the ceiling. "You mind if I just look at the ceiling for a while? I…I need to clear my head for a bit."

"That's alright, Ben," said Reed. He too felt a singe of tiredness and thought that just for today, he could take some time to relax. He gazed up at the ceiling and stretched his arms out to the room in order to take in the sheer size of the lab now that it was empty. "I think I'll join you."

"Hmmm. Didn't take you for the lazy type."

"It's not being lazy, it's just…I need some time to stretch out."

Both chuckled at the bad pun as they continued to gaze at the high, white, and circular ceiling. After such a bad time together, the two friends were back to how things were, and they liked it that way. Powers or talk, they had gotten through it.

What were friends for?


End file.
